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Chapter 48
Chapter 48 - Battle of Anping - Day One
October 23rd. Morning.
Han Fu Army appeared at the south of Tong's fortress. Their front line formed up in formations while the soldiers in the back were busy crafting ladders to prepare for the siege.
Guo Dian Army arrived later at 10AM. Just like Han Fu, they settled formed up and took their time getting ready to attack.
Both army sent their spy to scout the fortress layout and obtain more information. They also came into contact with each other and sent their messengers to negotiate for the coalition against Tong and his men.
Tong was observing their movements with his radar map. He had marked both Han Fu Army and Guo Dian Army in a different color when Tong came into the radar range.
To moment Tong saw the two different color came into contact and didn't kill each other, Tong guessed that they should somehow come to a truce.
Up till now, Tong was still baffled of why Han Fu would attack his camp. So once the Han Fu Army arrived, Tong sent his messenger to negotiate with them and asked why they had to attack his camp and his family.
At 10. 30 AM, a messenger from Han Fu Army came and stopped in front of the gate. Tong already stood on top of the wall, observing the incoming messenger.
The horseman messenger hurled a head toward the gate. It was the head of Tong's messenger who was sent to negotiate with Han Fu Army!
"Bastard!"
There was a limit of how uncivil or trickery antics that Tong could tolerate. Killing a messenger was definitely not one of them.
He took out the rifle and aimed at the horseman.
*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
Three rounds of burst fire killed the horseman before he could turn around went back.
*Sii*
Tong's subordinates breath in cold air. The immortal had demonstrated another magic again. This time, someone fell because of his wrath.
"Get someone to take that body and pierce it with a stake from his anus through his mouth. I want that stake as a decoration in front of the south gate."
Tong's voice was calm and monotonous. However, his men could feel that Tong's killing intent was intensified. They hurried back and completed his order with goosebumps and shaking legs.
Ten minutes later, a group of another horsemen came and hurled the insults toward Tong and his troops, causing the soldiers inside to fume in rage.
"They sure want to get me angry alright. And they have succeeded."
Tong mumbled to himself and adjusted his rifle, sniping the bad mouthing horsemen down one by one. The troops behind Tong cheered when they saw the foul mouth enemies fell.
...
Pan Feng observed the commotion outside the fortress south gate from afar. He heard that the commander of the Zhang family was just a brat, so he planned to provoke Tong and drew him out to fight outside of the fort.
But it seemed that Tong was more tolerant than He had thought because the insult from his men and Tong's dead messenger couldn't draw Tong Army out.
Pan Feng wanted to step forward and challenged Tong into a duel. But after he heard that Tong had a strange thunder magic, he stopped his idea.
He had his men surveyed the landscape, and got the reports that his opponents had dug pitfall traps around the fortress. Yet, the pitfall traps were concentrated around the peninsula-like extended walls of the strange fort while the road to the gate was clear of traps.
Pan Feng smirked.
"Such childish traps won't work against us. Men! Hear my order! Have the shield bearers carry extra planks. If you see any suspicious uneven ground, put the planks on the ground."
"As you command!"
"Ready the men. We will siege it at noon."
...
Meanwhile, Guo Dian was relaxing in his tent, ignoring what Pan Feng and Tong had done.
After he heard from his spies that Wen Chou and his men retreated back to Nan Pi, he was relief. They don't have to face that elite army anymore. The rowdy bandits ahead of him could never be a match for his army.
"Since Han Fu wants to deal with the Zhang, then let them have him."
"Men! Stay in position but do not siege! We will watch the show from the sideline."
Guo Dian had lost many men already, so he allowed Pan Feng and Han Fu troops to take a bite first. Once Tong's camp was damaged enough, he would launch the assault and reap the fortune later.
...
...
The sun hung on the middle of the clear sky, indicating that it was noon.
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
Pan Feng troops sounded the drums and color flags were waved around. The shield bearers marched forward with their shield covering their head and the battering ram behind them. Hundred men followed after the troops, carrying tall ladders and ropes. A total of 1, 500 men stepped forward in the first wave.
Tong watched the incoming troops with mocking smile.
'Instead of attacking at the weak-point corners, they walk straight into the crossfire. What a bunch of simpletons. '
"Archers and Pillbox Squadrons get ready to fire on my command! Ballista Squads stand by! Do not fire until I give the order! Trench Squadrons, withdraw from the first and the second lines. Draw them in!" Tong shouted with all air in his lung.
Pan Feng shield bearers marched to the gate which had walls surrounding the troops in a triangle shape. One of the soldiers was scared from seeing the shape of this fortress, he walked straight into a V-formation.
"Archers! Fire!"
Archers on both wings on the walls rained down their arrows. At the same time, the pillboxes on the ground, in front of the edges of the walls and behind the trenches, shot out crossbow arrows.
The shield soldiers attempted to block the incoming arrows in front of them, only to find out that they were hit by the side. The arrows didn't come from the front straight angle, but from both sides on their left and right, and from the top of the wall and from the ground.
No matter where they lift their shields to block, there would be arrows flew at them in their blind spots.
The crossfire tactic showed the effect. The approaching soldiers cried in pain, afterwards fell one after another.
A crossfire tactic, which also known as interlocking fire, was a prominent tactic in World War I. The troops would fire from two angles and the arc of fire from the angles crossed each other. Once someone got caught, the person would be considered lucky if he managed to get out of there alive.
The commanding officers were elated seeing the effectiveness of this formation. Meanwhile, Tong cringed while watching his men and his formation.
'If only I have barbed-wires, land mines and more snipers, none of them can even approach the wall. There are still rooms for improvement. '
Tong glanced at the right wing of the wall. Hua Shi, who wore leather armor and disguised herself as one of the archer, was shooting several bright arrows at the targets below. She was enjoying her farming session for free lifespans and grinding her magic arrow skill EXP.
Tong glanced at his radar map. The west gate was still calm. It seemed that Guo Dian hadn't attacked yet, which relieved Tong.
'The first wave was nothing to worry about. Now, show me your next move. '
...
Pan Feng stood on the watch tower, shocking from what he saw. The first wave of the shield bearers with battling ram failed without being able to reach the gate.
The rate of fire from the volleys was terrifying. It was as if there were over 10, 000 archers shooting from the walls.
Speaking of the walls, the strange shaped fortress also played a part of this massacre. Pan Feng noticed it just now that it looked like a wing formation or a V-shaped formation.
"Have the front troops withdraw! Sound the drums!!"
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
The retreating signal drums vibrated and the troops that was on the frontline withdrew in a hurry, leaving their comrade's dead bodies behind.
"I want a report on the west side. How is the battle on the west side going on?"
Pan Feng asked his subordinates in his tents whose face were all pale. They knew that once they reported it, Pan Feng would be mad.
"Report to the general, Guo Dian ordered his troops to stand by. They have not laid the siege yet."
Pan Feng slammed his fist on the wooden table in front of him, destroying it. His face was boiling red. Veins was bulging under his skin.
"DAMN IT!! GUO DIAN!!"
The officers in the tent shrunk back from the roar, but Pan Feng aide stepped up to calm him down.
"Lord Pan Feng, you should not be angry. I think it was a correct decision by Guo Dian not to assault."
"What!?"
The aide was none other than Xin Ping who had suggested Han Fu to get rid of the Zhang family and ruin the cooperation between Zhang family and Yuan family.
"In common instance, the number of our soldiers has to be at least five times higher than the defending troops in a siege warfare. And from the latest intel, they now have 5, 000 men inside. Therefore, we fall short in terms of number and the preparation for this siege."
Pan Feng heart sunk. Xin Ping was right. After the failed siege they were left with around 7, 000 men, which was not enough for a standard siege against 5, 000 defenders.
"Then what can I do to break the situation?"
"Lord do not need to worry. I have just received an interesting intel and already drafted a plan. I'm sure you will like it."
Xin Ping grinned.
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